Capture

[PHOTO CREDIT: ANDRE DENIS, CWF PHOTO CONTEST]

About 7 years ago I was so lucky to see a snowy owl on my drive to work one morning – definitely an amazingly beautiful bird! Lately I have been reading so many reports of snowy owls, one even saying that “this year’s invasion is one of the most dramatic natural history spectacles in the Northeast…”, that every day I look in the fields with the hopes of seeing another one. But so far, not a single sighting. Last week on my way home I saw people outside of their cars on the side of the road with cameras and I started to get excited thinking maybe they were looking at a snowy owl – and they may have been but I sure couldn’t spot one.

Most sightings are coming from the Atlantic provinces, the Northeast U.S., the Great Lakes, with even one on Bermuda! It seems that the reason for this event has to do with a very successful breeding season thanks to abundant prey. With so many young owls, some are being forced south.

So for now I’ll continue to scour the fields looking at fence posts with the hopes of seeing a snowy owl and if I do I’ll remember not to get too close but instead admire it from a distance.

Have you been lucky enough to see a snowy owl this winter?